If you came here to read my post, Is Free Speech Dead in Lawrence, Kansas, it is now the 8th post below this one -- scroll down to read it.

Years ago I diversified my grocery shopping. It just didn't make sense to get everything at one place, because not only was this not possible given the wide variety of ingredients that I use in my food preparation, but also because I found such dramatic price variability on each item from one place to the next. Occasionally I have even organized group buys on specific products, direct from the manufacturer, and though these are always a fabulous deal in terms of price, sometimes they entail a lot of work on my part....like the time I got a 1000 pounds of raw cashews and then had to divide them correctly between several dozen people. (A bigger job than I had predicted!) I've purchased bulk quinoa flakes direct from the Ancient Harvest company, bulk mirin from Eden Foods, and also joined in on similar group buys that others have organized from Green Smoothie Girl, Frontier Herbs, South River Miso Company, Rose Mountain Herbs, UNFI and Azure Standard. What follows is the listing of my favorite places to get specific items. I also buy some things via the internet now -- In many cases this not only saves me money, and hassle, but allows me to spend my dollars with companies who are not actively working to increase consumption of meat, dairy and eggs -- an important point if you care about slowing climate change or believe that when we have a choice, we should not deliberately cause harm to other animals.

Costco: I am not a Costco member because the closest Costco is still an hour's drive for me, so I don't go there very often, but I do like the company. They seem to operate much more ethically than Sam's Club and Walmart. They don't always have every item that I have bought there on previous trips -- it can be hit or miss, and I do need to pay attention to where items are from -- some of their organics are from China -- which I won't buy. But every so often friends make it possible for me to shop there and then I stock up on the following:

Checkers Grocery Store: This is a locally owned non-chain large grocery store. They do an amazing job of selling foods from smaller and sometimes local food producers, and often pass on great savings to their customers on fresh produce. The great deals are always different. A few days ago, they had incredibly sweet, large, red, juicy grapefruits for 25 cents each! A few weeks ago, I got delicious Pink Lady Apples for a dollar a pound. I usually find red cabbage for about 70 cents a pound too.

Natural Grocers: This is where I buy organic potatoes, lettuces and greens. They typically have raw cashew peices for about 5-6 dollars a pound and this is also THE source for my very favorite tofu -- Wild Wood Organic Super Firm Tofu, which I prefer over other available tofu, ever since finding out that some tofu is manufactured in PLASTIC VESSELS. (BPA/BPS anyone?) I called Wildwood and they told me that when the hot soy milk is being coagulated, this is done in STAINLESS STEEL containers. It also is a GREAT price -- just 3.19 for a 20 oz block of the firmest tofu I have ever found.

Azure Standard out of Oregon (via a local buying group) does have tax and delivery charges on top of these prices, but it allows me to get:

Dillions Grocery store on 6th and Lawrence Avenue. Has great tasting purified water (RO and UV treated) for 40 cents a gallon some well priced fresh organic produce and an amazing selection of packaged gluten-free vegan convenience items.

HyVee on 6th street is the only place in town that I know of that carries ALL FOUR varieties of Daiya Cheesecakes-- and right now they are on sale for under six dollars each -- if you are looking for something sweet and easy to take to an event -- this is what I recommend -- it really impresses people -- including those who think something dairy and gluten free couldn't possibly satisfy them.

There are a variety of internet options for buying things like sorghum flour, buckwheat flour, xanthan gum, guar gum, agar powder, organic corn starch, sea vegetables, vitamin B-12, and one pound bags of herbs and seasonings, and personal care items. In general there is no shipping and no tax, when you order at least 50 dollars of stuff, but special deals and shipping times vary quite a bit. Here are some to check out:

Sprouts Farmers Market, Sometimes has terrific bargains on specific items (I once got the largest sweetest mangos I've ever tasted for 25 cents a pound!) but overall I find their prices higher than most other places and when I have requested that they get products I wanted, (like Daiya Cheesecakes) they were the least responsive retailer I have ever attempted to deal with, so I don't shop there too often.

If you know of some good deals that others might be interested in -- feel free to post them as comments here.